N.B.: Please note that most of the resources are available only in Portuguese.
Overview of the Country

Background

  • Official name: Republic of Cabo Verde
  • Location: Atlantic archipelago off the west coast of Africa
  • Capital: Praia
  • Official language: Portuguese
  • National language: Cabo Verdean Creole
  • Population: 524,877
  • GDP: US$2.73 billion, current US$ (2024)
  • GDP per capita: US$5,192.5, current US$ (2024)
  • Income classification: Upper-middle-income economy
  • Economic structure: Small island economy driven largely by services and tourism; 2024 growth was supported by tourism activity, service exports and private consumption.

Membership

Additional Resources

Sources

Critical sector strategic priorities in education include:

  1. Expanding access to quality pre-primary education and improving early-learning readiness
  2. Improving pedagogical quality, curriculum reform and foundational learning outcomes
  3. Strengthening inclusion for children with special education needs and vulnerable learners
  4. Reinforcing education governance, planning, data systems and sector coordination
  5. Strengthening teacher training and pedagogical support
  6. Developing technical-professional training, higher education, science, research and innovation linked to national development priorities

Policy and Strategy References

Sources

Governance Structure for Education

  • Education governance is led by the Ministry of Education and related national structures.
  • Local education delegations support implementation across the 22 municipalities. The National Directorate of Education is the main strategy and planning service in the [1]Ministry of Education and includes a Nucleus of Special Education and Inclusive Education.
  • Ministry responsible for education: Ministry of Education
    • Local implementation: education delegations
    • Inclusive education structure: Nucleus of Special Education and Inclusive Education
  • Higher education and science: PEDS II sets higher education, research and professional-training priorities
    • National assessment / examinations body: No national source identified
    • Quality assurance / accreditation body for higher education: No national source identified

The education system is organized into multiple levels

  • Pre-primary education (ISCED 0):early childhood education, with pre-school described as ages 4-5
  • Primary education (ISCED 1):six-year cycle, official entrance age 6
  • Lower secondary education (ISCED 2):three-year cycle, typically ages 12 to 14 years.
  • Upper secondary education (ISCED 3):ISCED mapping shows a three-year cycle; national framework structures secondary education across the 9 to 12 years with general and technical routes
  • TVET / technical-professional education: offered through technical education, vocational training and higher professional-education pathways
  • Higher education (ISCED 5-8): provided by universities, university institutes, polytechnic institutes and higher-education schools

Sources

School-age population

  • Pre-primary: 28,963
  • Primary: 59,257
  • Lower secondary: 29,565
  • Upper secondary: 28,875
  • Tertiary: 43,165 (ages 18 to 22; five-year band)

Gross enrolment ratio (GER)

  • Pre-primary: 75.0% (2019, World Bank/WDI)
  • Primary: 103.0% (2022, World Bank/WDI)
  • Lower secondary: No national source identified
  • Upper secondary: No national source identified
  • Secondary, total: 96.43% (2022, World Bank/WDI-derived)
  • Tertiary: 24.0% (2018, World Bank/WDI)

Completion rates

  • Pre-primary: N/A
  • Primary: No national source identified
  • Lower secondary: No national source identified
  • Upper secondary: 55.6% (2020, UIS — total upper-secondary completion)

Out-of-school rate

  • Primary school age: 9.0% (2023 modelled UIS); administrative value 4.7% (2021)
  • Lower secondary school age: 13.0% (2023 modelled UIS); administrative value 8.1% (2021)
  • Upper secondary school age: 23.0% (2023 modelled UIS); administrative value 16.7% (2021)

Sources

Proportion of children and young people achieving at least a minimum proficiency level

  • Reading: No national source identified
  • Mathematics: No national source identified
  • Learning-poverty estimate: No national source identified; UNESCO IICBA notes country-specific learning-poverty estimates are not available for Cabo Verde

Sources

Percentage of teachers qualified according to national standards

  • Pre-primary: 30.3% (2020)
  • Primary education: 93.5% (2021)
  • Lower secondary education: 94.9% (2021)
  • Upper secondary education: 95.6% (2021)
  • Secondary education (ISCED 2-3): 95.1% (2021)

Percentage of teachers trained according to national standards

No national source identified

Sources

School infrastructure and facilities / Electricity

  • Primary education: 90.3% (2021)
  • Lower secondary education: 100.0% (2021)
  • Upper secondary education: 100.0% (2021)

School infrastructure and facilities / Internet for pedagogical purposes

  • Primary education: 32.1% (2021)
  • Lower secondary education: 100.0% (2021)
  • Upper secondary education: 100.0% (2021)

School infrastructure and facilities / single-sex basic sanitation

  • Primary education: 92.9% (2021)
  • Lower secondary education: 100.0% (2021)
  • Upper secondary education: 100.0% (2021)

School infrastructure and facilities / basic drinking water

  • Primary education: 100.0% (2021)
  • Lower secondary education: 100.0% (2021)
  • Upper secondary education: 100.0% (2021)

Proportion of schools with adapted infrastructure and materials for students with disabilities

  • Primary education: No national source identified
  • Lower secondary education: No national source identified
  • Upper secondary education: No national source identified

Sources